Diet plan VS just eating healthy

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  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
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    Based on the thread title....

    There is no "VS" involved. Just find a combination that takes me toward whatever my goal is. For me it was fat loss and muscle preservation, then recomp. Calories were king for both. Protein was the most important macro for both.
  • erjones11
    erjones11 Posts: 422 Member
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    All formal diets seem to work for most people until they go off them. And then what? Think long-term as in forever. What can you stick with until you die?
  • mads_o86
    mads_o86 Posts: 43 Member
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    I don't eat "healthy". I experiment a lot with what makes me feel full while staying within the calorie count (and tasting good) and eat more of that. I don't look at macros but most weeks it's right around 33/33/33. The ultimate goal is finding stuff I can live off for the rest of my life and be happy.

    What makes me feel full is:
    -turkey bacon and eggs for breakfast (with a little bit of rye/carrot bread),
    -300 calories with of peanuts a day, as a snack (there is pretty compelling evidence that peanuts make you feel full while a lot of the calories pass through you undigested and they taste damn good).
    -home made burgers with about 225g/1 pound of very lean meat, with whole grain buns and lots of salad. Sometimes with home cut, oven roasted, non-fat potatoes.
    -Chicken burgers (like above)
    -Mexican fired meat with either salad or occasionally, when I have calories to spare, wrapped in a Tortilla (they don't make me feel full and have a LOT of calories but taste damn good)
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    My plan is to eat within calories. I typically fill it with mostly healthy-ish foods that keep me full, but I don't shun any foods or food groups. If I restrict too much, I'll binge so I avoid getting too hungry.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
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    erjones11 wrote: »
    All formal diets seem to work for most people until they go off them. And then what? Think long-term as in forever. What can you stick with until you die?

    my best buddy says often " the best diet plan is the one you do".
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    ashleyeatsbetter wrote: »
    Which has worked better for you? I think a plan works better for me for a while until I fall off the wagon. What has worked best for you? Do you follow a plan or just try to pick healthy options?

    No matter what you choose to do, in order to lose weight you need to know how many calories you are taking in. Some find it easier to do that via a plan, especially if they have had very little cooking experience or nutrition education. Others know what are satisfying nutritious foods and just need to modify their intake. All who keep the weight off have internalized the changes and made them a part of their daily lives. Even people on plans needed to transition to learning maintenance eating habits.

    The National Weight Control Registry is an interesting place where people who have lost 30 lb. or more and have kept it off for at least a year can register and become part of a research study. One of the more interesting statistics among them is how they lost the weight: 45% of registry participants lost the weight on their own and the other 55% lost weight with the help of some type of program. nwcr.ws/research/

    There is no One Way to lose but 98% of those who did modified their food intake in some way and 94% increased their activity. There is variety in how participants keep the weight off but most report continuing to maintain a low calorie, low fat diet and doing high levels of activity.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,976 Member
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    I got fat while eating very "healthy."

    So, yes, a plan of some variety is required. What that plan is can vary widely from one person to the next, but just eating "healthy" didn't work so well.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    ashleyeatsbetter wrote: »
    Which has worked better for you? I think a plan works better for me for a while until I fall off the wagon. What has worked best for you? Do you follow a plan or just try to pick healthy options?

    What has worked best for me is to eat what I normally would in moderation. I log everything in advance for the day and make small changes like smaller portions, more vegetables on my plate, less cheese, less crackers or bread, more protein, or not using calories on drinks. It is easier because the changes were gradual and not food that is too different from how the people around me eat.
  • Nery_Tay
    Nery_Tay Posts: 81 Member
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    Well based on my own experience Fad Diets don't work. Eating healthy for me means reaching your daily vitamin intake and avoiding greasy processed food. Increasing my Vegetable and Fruit intake. Just Track your foods and understand that nutrition is important but if you are just starting out just do calorie tracking.
  • StargazerB
    StargazerB Posts: 425 Member
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    I was able to lose weight and maintain the loss by tracking/logging my food. I don't have any food restrictions but try and make healthy choices and eat foods that will nourish my body. I do of course enjoy years as well.
  • AndThenIWoreIt
    AndThenIWoreIt Posts: 25 Member
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    I’m with those who say their “diet plan” has been to eat in a very healthy way, at a calorie deficit — because the long-term plan is to eat and exercise in an appropriate way to maintain this goal weight for life.

    That said, I do appreciate short-term challenges, and I can see the advantages of sticking to a specific plan for, say, a week, just to exercise that “I made myself a promise and I’m going to do what I promised” muscle.

    One benefit of that approach is that, when you get back to your regular healthy approach, you deeply appreciate those little extras, like that coffee or Diet Coke or dairy or whatever you did without for the week.

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